Arachnids
by waitingforspring
Summary: The cats have always regarded themselves as rulers of the forest, taking everything they needed - but what do other creatures think about it?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Greystripe was limping after Firestar, tail dragging along the ground. He was weary and wounded, a long bleeding gash on his shoulder where Russetfur's claws tore his flesh. They tried again to convince ShadowClan to leave the forest, along with the other Clans, as the Twolegs were slowly taking over the territory and scaring off the prey. However, their warning met deaf ears, and they were attacked and chased away.

"How can they be so mouse-brained?" Firestar growled. "We stand no chance against the Twolegs, we must find another home. But we cannot leave until all Clans agree to follow."

Greystripe did not argue; he knew his friend's opinion on the matter: the Clans should leave or die together. "These are difficult times," he murmured. "Our forest destroyed... my kits disappeared..." Feathertail and Stormfur have been missing for almost a moon. Firestar brushed his tail lightly along his best friend's flank in encouragement, but his heart sank too as he remembered the missing cats. Squirrelpaw, her daughter also vanished, together with a young warrior of the Clan, Brambleclaw.

They arrived to the ThunderClan camp and pressed through the gorse tunnel. The warriors and apprentices emerged from their dens and looked at them expectantly, but Firestar shook his head. Graystripe padded away to the medicine cat's den, and Cinderpelt pressed a generous amount of marigold and cobwebs on his wound to stop the bleeding. "At least we aren't running short of cobwebs," she remarked. "There are always plenty in this forest."

Greystripe lay down to rest a bit, waiting for his strength to return. Suddenly, he heard a commotion from the clearing, as if the camp was attacked: terrified yowls of cats mingling with strange clicking and hissing noises. The warrior sprang to his paws and pushed through the ferns to join the others.

The sight made him stagger. Gigantic spiders, each as large as a fox, were pouring into the ravine, climbing gracefully across the thickets sheltering the camp. They had hard, chitinous shells, and their long, jointed legs were barbed and razor-sharp.

The largest spider stepped forward and clicked its mandibles. "I am Pauk, leader of the sword spiders. We came here to protect our smaller kin, who live in this forest. You furry mammals have been persecuting them since you moved here, tearing apart and stealing their webs made with hard work, to plaster them on each other's fur. We will put an end to this now."

The cats eyed them warily, fear gleaming in their eyes. Of course, they did not understand spider-talk; all they could hear was something of a "click-click-hiss-hiss-click."

"I don't know what their problem is, but they seem hostile to me," Graystripe murmured to Firestar. More cats appeared from the dens, joining the others, determined to give their lives for the Clan.

"We can defeat them," Firestar replied, but as he looked again at the army of the angry arachnids, his confidence started to ebb away. "We _must_ defeat them."

He stepped forward and addressed the creatures. "What do you want from us? We have no quarrel with you. Leave this forest now, and your lives will be spared."

The large spiders eyed him with their many eyes. Of course, they did not understand cat-talk; all they could hear was something of a "miauw-miauw-miauuuw." After a long moment, Pauk clicked its mandibles, and the creatures jumped forward to attack.

Greystripe launched himself at the closest enemy, but it batted him away easily with a sweep of his leg, sharp barbs tearing new wounds in the grey warrior's body. He got up and charged again, raking his claws across its abdomen. It staggered and turned to face him. Brackenfur and Whitepaw arrived to help, and the three of them ripped the spider apart with sharp claws.

They whipped around to face another of the attackers, and saw with clenched throat that several warriors were already lying lifeless on the ground. Thornclaw lay with a broken spine, Ashfur had a deep gash on his neck, and Cloudtail was impaled on the razor-sharp leg of a spider, spasming in agony as life bled away from him. There were too many enemies; this was a lost battle.

A faint light of hope showed its glimpse to Greystripe as he saw Dustpelt's large patrol appearing from the gorse tunnel. The patrol froze in horror as they took in the massacre in the ravine, then jumped into the battle with a fierce yowl, and Greystripe joined to help them. It seemed for a moment that the odds were reversed, but the spiders gained the upper hand in the end. Dustpelt went down as powerful mandibles grabbed his throat, Sandstorm was bleeding from several cuts, and Greystripe was flung aside by a hard blow.

Firestar appeared from nowhere, helping the deputy to his paws. "To the nursery, quick! We must rescue the kits!" They ran off in the direction of the bramble walls, hearing the high-pitched wails of the kits from inside. The spiders could not push through the brambles, but used their mandibles to tear the branches apart.

Greystripe jumped on the back of an attacker, trying to dislodge it, but it was standing firmly on its eight legs, and managed to throw the warrior aside, then raked its barbed legs over his body. The cat fell to the ground with a crash, and fell back when he tried to stand up, realizing that his hind legs were broken. He looked around in panic, hoping that Firestar would come to his aid, but the ginger tom was pinned down under a creature, spasming as powerful venom was pumped through his body from the fangs that sank in his neck.

The grey warrior's vision blurred, his body weakened from the wounds and blood loss, and closed his yellow eyes for the last time. _At last, I will be reunited with my dear Silverstream_, he thought as he slipped out of consciousness.

After the fight was over, Pauk glanced around to take in the devastated clearing, looking at the lifeless bodies of the cats and some of the fallen arachnids. They avenged their kin.

"We are done here," it clicked its mandibles. "The small spiders of the forest will not be bothered any more by those stuck-up mammals. We may return home."

Another spider scuttled up to it. "If it is all right with you, Pauk... some of us wish to remain here. There is prey in this forest, and we could protect our smaller kin."

"Very well," the leader replied. "Thanks for your help... I will miss your friendship." It climbed across the thickets, followed by most of the other creatures.

* * *

_Note: This takes place during Moonrise, in the old forest camp. I pitied the poor spiders constantly being ripped off by those mean kitties, so here is a fic about the odds getting reversed. I intended it as a humorous writing, but in the end it turned out the opposite. I am so evil... :'( Oh well, it is only a fic, please don't kill me._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

When Firestar woke up, it was already twilight. The pain vanished and his wounds were healing. _I lost a life_, he remembered, as he recalled his visit to StarClan. _I still have six lives left_.

He was wrapped tightly in thick, sticky strands, suspended from the rocky ceiling of the medicine cat's den in a cocoon-like tangle of cobwebs. With a great effort, he tore one paw free, then used his claws to rip enough of the strands to free himself. The cobwebs gave way and Firestar fell to the ground.

As he looked around, he spotted several other hanging cocoons with dead Clanmates inside. _I must remember to give them all a proper warrior's funeral_, the leader reminded himself. Cinderpelt's lifeless body was lying near the ferns, and he padded up to her to press his muzzle in the fluffy grey fur of his former apprentice. He looked around for Leafpaw, but she was nowhere.

Peeking out into the clearing, Firestar froze with terror as he saw the fur-raising scene of limp, broken bodies scattered through the camp, blood turning the sandy soil of the ravine into mud. _The entire Clan is wiped out... oh, StarClan, why did you do this to us?_ He saw several of the spiders as well, one weaving a web between the High Rock and the bushes, two others standing guard.

_I must escape and warn the other Clans_, Firestar decided. Silently, he started creeping towards the camp entrance, keeping to the shadows, his eyes almost closed lest their gleam give him away. The creatures did not notice him, and he suspected they did not see well in the dark.

The leader almost reached the gorse tunnel when he spotted Sandstorm's body close by, pale ginger fur tattered and bloody, legs hanging at awkward angles. He carefully padded closer to caress her for the last time. To his surprise and relief, he saw her flank rising and falling in shallow, ragged breaths.

"Sandstorm," Firestar whispered, pressing his muzzle to her neck, then starting to lick her wounds. "Hang on; I will get you out from here. Can you stand up?"

The ginger she-cat slowly opened her green eyes to look at her mate, but she was too weak even to lift her head. "Firestar," she rasped in a barely audible voice. "It's no use... you must save yourself..."

The spiders finally noticed the movement, and started scuttling towards them.

"I'm not leaving you behind, Sandstorm," Firestar replied. He gave a last lick across her cheek, then stepped forward to face the attackers.

A barbed leg lashed out to sweep him away, but Firestar avoided it and raked his claws along the appendage, causing the creature to stagger back. Another spider retreated when the tom reared up on his hind legs to claw at its eyes. His spirits rose, confident that he could defeat the monsters and save what was left from the Clan.

Something moved behind him, and before Firestar could spin around to face it, he was grabbed by huge, powerful mandibles and tossed into the air. He fell to the ground with a sickening thud, and razor-sharp legs tore at his flesh until, one by one, he lost all his lives.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Squirrelpaw dashed through the quiet forest, with Brambleclaw at her heels. After moons of travelling, they were finally close to home, and they could hardly wait to share Midnight's words with the rest of the Clan. Soon all cats would find a new home and thrive again.

It was sunset, dark shadows lingering among the trees, the golden rays of the languid leaf-fall sun illuminating only the withering canopies far above. The forest was eerily silent; there was no sound of scuttling prey, and the wind brought no scent of cats, although they were already close to the ThunderClan camp. It seemed that the Twolegs had already chased off every living being.

"Wait," Brambleclaw hissed. Squirrelpaw stopped and followed the gaze of the dark tabby tom. Between the trunks of two huge oak trees, there was an enormous cobweb, sticky drops gleaming on the strands in the dim light. They stared in horror. "What... what is that?" Squirrelpaw whispered. "A spider making that... should be larger than a cat!"

"Let's be careful," Brambleclaw advised, and they continued in the direction of the camp, stepping lightly and stopping from time to time to taste the air and listen for strange noises. Squirrelpaw pressed close to Brambleclaw. They grew quite close to each other on their journey to the sun-drown place, and she trusted the huge tabby warrior to get them out of any trouble.

Soon, they arrived at the sandy ravine, and padded through the gorse tunnel to enter the ThunderClan camp. There was a large cobweb at the end of the tunnel, strands sticking on their coats as they pressed through it. Squirrelpaw glanced around the clearing. There was only dust, dead branches and small bones scattered everywhere. The bushes that hosted the dens were torn apart, and there was no sight or scent of Clan cats.

"We are late. It seems they left a long time ago," the she-cat meowed in despair. "Our journey was in vain."

"Don't worry, Squirrelpaw," Brambleclaw soothed her, giving a comforting lick across her ear. "Maybe the other Clans or the loners know where they went. We will find them."

"Let's look around here first, maybe we find a clue," Squirrelpaw suggested. They started padding towards the centre of the camp, but froze as something huge moved in a shadowy corner. They looked around and saw two gigantic spiders emerging from behind the fallen tree that used to be the elders' den. Another one appeared from the direction of the High Rock, and scuttled closer. They were as large as foxes, and their many eyes gleamed with a mixture of hostility and curiosity.

Sudden understanding flared in Squirrelpaw's mind as she watched the creatures and recognized the bones scattered in the clearing – cats' bones. The Clan did not leave; they were attacked and killed by these monstrosities. She started to shiver with terror, picturing Firestar, Sandstorm, Leafpaw and all the others being slaughtered and eaten up by these terrible creatures.

Obviously, Brambleclaw arrived at the same conclusion, as he stepped forward, fur bristling with rage. "You abominations!" he yowled. "Why did you do this to our Clan? I will rip your hearts out!"

"Brambleclaw, no!" Squirrelpaw meowed in panic. "They will kill you too. Let's get out of here while we can, there is nothing we can do now!"

"I will avenge my Clan mates, Squirrelpaw," the tabby growled. "I won't flee like a coward and let these monsters go unpunished."

Squirrelpaw admired his bravery. This was one cat she would always trust with her life, although she was too proud to openly admit it. Nevertheless, this was not the time to fight; they would only die a senseless death. "No," she pleaded in a shaky voice. "We stand no chance against these creatures. You will be killed in vain. Let's get out of here... please..."

Brambleclaw pondered for a moment, then sighed. "All right," he agreed finally, and they turned around to flee. But two more spiders appeared, blocking their escape route. They were surrounded. Mortal fear grabbed Squirrelpaw's heart.

"Run! We can still make it!" Brambleclaw called as he tried to dash through between the two newcomers. Squirrelpaw ran towards another creature, dodging its barbed legs.

Seeing their prey was about to flee, the spiders finally decided to attack. A jointed leg kicked Squirrelpaw in the flank, and the flame-coloured apprentice tumbled over, sliding to a stop on the sandy ground. She managed to scramble to her paws, avoided another attack and continued running in the direction of the camp entrance. Glancing back, she saw Brambleclaw ripping open a spider's chitinous abdomen and breaking free as well, following the she-cat close behind.

Squirrelpaw almost reached the gorse tunnel when she heard the gruesome crack of breaking bones. She looked back and froze in horror, seeing the broken body of Brambleclaw pinned down by two spiders.

These few heartbeats of hesitation were enough for the creatures to catch up with the younger cat as well. A barbed leg knocked Squirrelpaw to the ground, and sharp fangs sank into her neck. Excruciating pain overwhelmed her as the spider's venom started to course through her veins. The last thing she saw was the once proud form of Brambleclaw being torn to pieces by powerful mandibles.


End file.
